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2015-16 Season
The 2015–16 Chicago Blackhawks season was the 90th season for the NHL. The team entered the season as defending Stanley Cup champions. The Blackhawks finished the season with a 47–26–9 record and qualified for the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the #3 seed in the Central Division, but they lost in the first round to the St. Louis Blues (four games to three). Off-Season The Blackhawks faced an offseason of change after being crowned Stanley Cup Champions for a third time in six years. Coming into the offseason, it was well known Chicago was facing impending cap space struggles and moves would need to be made. On June 27, 2015, the Blackhawks traded backup goaltender Antti Raanta to the New York Rangers in exchange for AHL forward Ryan Haggerty. On June 29, 2015 (two days after the trade), defenseman David Rundblad received a 2-year, $2 million contract extension. The Blackhawks attempted to negotiate a contract for restricted free agent winger Brandon Saad who was a restricted free agent, but they were unsuccessful. Unlikely to match any sizeable offer sheets due to cap constraints, the Blackhawks traded Saad & prospects Michael Paliotta and Alex Broadhurst to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for center Artem Anisimov, wingers Jeremy Morin & Corey Tropp, prospect Marko Dano and their 4th-round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft on June 30, 2015. The move did not sit well with the Chicago fanbase as Saad was viewed as another top young player on the Stanley Cup-winning squad. The next day on July 1, 2015, Anisimov subsequently signed a 5-year, $22.75 million contract with the Blackhawks. Chicago turned to Russia a few times throughout the offseason. KHL winger Viktor Tihkonov (the grandson of the legendary Soviet coach by the same name) signed a 1-year, $1.04 million contract with Chicago on July 1, 2015. Tihkonov was returning to the NHL for the first time since his 2009 season with the Phoenix Coyotes. Also, the Blackhawks and Edmonton swapped minor league players, sending goaltender Anders Nilsson to the Oilers in exchange for forward Liam Coughlin. Following season-long trade speculation, the Blackhawks pulled the trigger on another trade by trading another piece of its core Stanley Cup winning teams. Another cap clearing move, Chicago traded alternate captain Patrick Sharp and defenseman Stephen Johns to the Dallas Stars in exchange for forward Ryan Garbutt and defenseman Trevor Daley. The 3-time Stanley Cup winner carried a cap hit of $5.9 million in each of the next two seasons which limited the Blackhawks in what they could do with free agency. A trade was expected following a down year in terms of production and the large aforementioned cap hit. Forward Andrew Desjardins returned on a 2-year deal worth $1.6 million, taking less to stay in Chicago. The Chicago Blackhawks extended the contracts of defensemen Viktor Svedberg & Michal Rozsival & forward Marcus Kruger. The team lost forwards Brad Richards & Antoine Vermette and defenseman Johnny Oduya during free agency. Regular Season The Blackhawks began their title defense with an average month of October with a record of 6–5–0. However, their fortunes increased in the months of November (7–3–1) and December (9–5–1). They finished the month of December on a two game winning streak. Looking to keep the wins coming in 2016, The Blackhawks won their first 10 games of January, bringing the win streak to 12 games. The streak set a franchise record for the most consecutive wins & tied the Florida Panthers win streak earlier in the season for the longest winning streak in the NHL during that season. Team Leaders *Goals: Patrick Kane (46) *Assists: Patrick Kane (60) *Points: Patrick Kane (106) *Penalties in Minutes (PIM): Andrew Shaw (69) *Plus/Minus: (+): Patrick Kane (+17); (–): Andrew Desjardins (–8) *Wins: Corey Crawford (35) *Goals Against Average (GAA): Michael Leighton (1.54) Awards Milestones Transactions Player Trades Acquired Free Agents Lost Free Agents Players Lost Via Waivers Player Lost Via Retirement *Daniel Carcillo *Kimmo Timonen Player Signings Suspensions & Fines Draft Picks Category:Seasons